Robotic art projects and 3-D billboard installations by Sila Sveta are attracting New Yorkers to Times Square

“Times Square is contemporarily known as the one-stop destination for tourists and the one spot New Yorkers avoid with more vigor than jury duty. Legendary Studio 54 founder and luxury hotelier Ian Schrager (@ianschrager), however, is seducing New Yorkers back to the area with the commissioning of two public-facing art projects located on the Jumbotron billboard on the corner of 47th and Broadway in celebration of the opening of The Times Square EDITION (@timessquareedition) “

We wanted to bring something unforgettable to Times Square and create an iconic moment to mark the opening of The Times Square EDITION. The activations will be unique visual experiences that the public can take part in to celebrate this momentous occasion.

“The new billboard project features a glowing display of urban media art that fuses classic depictions of art and nature with modern technology. Schrager is collaborating with Sila Sveta, the New York-based multimedia design studio that has produced installations for the MET Gala, to bring back the sophisticated glitz and high romance that Times Square was once known for in the 1940s and 50s. What is now blocks of fast food chains and naked cowboys was once a destination for New Yorkers themselves, lined with nightclubs where one could spin to the sounds of Doo-Wop at the start of the evening then end it with a nightcap accompanied by Frank Sinatra.”

Todd Berger and Lucian Föhr have spent the past 16 years, side by side, practicing contemporary graphic design and brand strategy for cultural and commercial clients. They are co-founders of their namesake studio, Berger & Föhr, based in Boulder, Colorado.

Throughout their careers, they have created a volume of highly regarded brand identities, digital products, and bespoke printed collateral. While broadly international in style, their work spans discipline, sector, and clientele, often defying categorization.

A collaboration between Russian post-production studio LOOP and number of talented artists resulted as a motion reel for the Pause Fest 2019 starting this days in Melbourne.

’A New Hope' is a challenging metaphor for everyone affected by the tech age that still considers some developments today as normal in our culture, traditions and society. We are not programmed well enough to foresee what the exponential technology can do to our society. How much are we going to pay for all bad decisions that we are making today? ‘A New Hope’ digs deep into our worst nightmares and what could happen if we loose control over those exponential tech advances. This video depicts how popularity mixed with power can easily transform our society into unpleasant and dangerous place. We have a high hope that our collective consciousness will drive us to a much brighter, safer, happier, inclusive and prosperous place.

Back in to 2018, it was the most challenging year for the world leading visual effect and stage design studio Sila Sveta, based in Moscow. Through a set of life changing events and creative director Willo Perron they landed with a project for Drake’s tour “Scorpion” - a huge challenge led to 15.6Tb of material and a panic half year of work to release 7 consecutive shows in NYC.

Being a longtime fans, friends and supporters of the best design festival in the world (literally) - OFFF, we cannot skip their recent visual rebirth made by Crowd Studio

Founded by Héctor Ayuso over a decade ago, OFFF started as a concept that transformed into an event joining creative talents from all around the world all together in one place. The main goal of OFFF is to become the key meeting point for artists who share the same interests to be in one place. Today, OFFF is more than an event, it is more than a Festival, OFFF has become a community providing the ultimate creativity experience.

Evolving context

In 2013, CROWD studio, one of the most talented Barcelona based digital and design agency, has transformed the famous 3 “FFF” into one icon, it was the birth of the official OFFF logo that maintained its presence for 5 years. With with over 18 years of content and a Festival that is ever-evolving, growing every year to become one the most important event to attend worldwide while providing endless innovation, it was time for a change. The OFFF icon has finally become visually recognised by everyone, so it became unnecessary to conserve the 3 “FFF” in the logo. The OFFF icon is now visually abstract, simplified and more compact thanks to re-thickness of the symbols.

Typography

“OFFF has been conveying one true message: “our audience, our speakers and our attendees are our base. Without them this wouldn’t be possible” so for such an important brand, user-experience is very crucial. We had to create something valuable for both, past attendees and new comers, to understand the message behind OFFF and to be able to navigate through 18 years worth of contents. Starting with the typography, the most important element to the human being’s eyes, we decided to work with a corporate font, showcasing some seriousness yet with a touch of flexibility.”

Problem solving

“From concepts to various visual campaigns in every edition and with over 8 OFFF on Tour cities, OFFF Festival is always changing its aspects. But the unity of the brand and the team behind it is the Festival's foundation. Over the past few years, we have noticed an overall shift in the brand’s identity. OFFF, the brand proving itself with the concept of having no brief and giving the complete freedom plus the invitation to create, this also had its consequence. We noticed that with so many openness, the brand unfortunately lost its visual presence and visual aspect throughout the Festival, online and onsite. So how do we showcase the dynamic aspect of the brand while maintaining its base? By creating a definite strategy in the brand’s communication structure and building a branding system.”

“With this new approach we are adding more control to the brand use, where the brand gets more identified with the ability to adapt to other contents therefore the Festival becomes more firm and more strengthened.”

“While using this new system of communication grid, the website become one dynamic block of contents making it easier for the user to adapt. This allows us to recreate the whole website as a platform and as an archive of news, past speakers, new speakers and events. An organised clean space.”

Being a Squarespace running blog we can’t miss their recent update of identity made by our friends from DIA Studio together with François Rappo (Typography), and Optimo

“Squarespace is one of very few technology companies that can truly call NYC home. The city has inspired our attitude, our aesthetic, and our mission to democratize good design for every ambitious entrepreneur, artist, or visionary with a dream. As we began to rethink our brand identity, we knew we needed to find a way to make New York a bigger part of the story.”

“New York is a study in movement; like jazz, it constantly heads in unpredictable directions. Since much of our output is interactive and screen based, we knew the brand needed to make sense in motion. So we developed a kinetic identity system that dimensionalizes our name and reinforces the two syllables in Squarespace.“

Cognition is the media art installation by Radugadesign at Stockholm City Hall. Created and produced in collaboration with composer and pianist Nikola Melnikov, for Asko Appliances AB.

In 2017 Radugadesign presented the audiovisual performance "Cognition" (for Asko brand) in Stockholm City Hall developed in the collaboration with composer and pianist Nikola Melnikov.. The installation of "Cognition" is an expression of striving for the perfect shape. Everything can be perfect–whether it is a geometric figure or a person.

Photographer Ami Vitale’s images of six nature art installations around the world aim to spread good news about efforts to protect the environment. The project was carried out in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme

Take Care for Future, by Saype, in Huila, Colombia

The work covers an area of 8,000 square metres and portrays a local inhabitant, Maria Paula. It is meant to symbolise the need for new generations to take care of the land and the planet

After years of armed conflicts and the spread of illegal farming in Colombia, the fields are lush again with the help of a project promoted by the Giuseppe and Pericle Lavazza Foundation. The aim is to offer support for the development of sustainable farms by training local communities to use new farming techniques and by providing internet access

The work was created using water and 100% biodegradable materials. Saype said: ‘What is interesting when I paint on grass is how quickly the ecosystem regains life. Flowers start blooming again, butterflies fly just above the grass, thousands of ants start moving around. It’s really incredible how nature takes over my artwork’

Mvuvi wa mikoko, by Mantra, in Gazi Bay, Kenya

The painting, measuring five metres by three, was painted in three days and then installed on a raft secured to the mangroves

The Mikoko Pamoja organisation plants 4,000 new mangroves in Gazi each year to protect coastal communities from floods and tsunamis and to act as a natural carbon sink. Now that Gazi’s forests have begun to grow thicker again, many aquatic animals have found a perfect habitat

‘Art comes after nature because humans have developed a powerful capacity to observe the world around them and reproduce it. I believe it is nature that has given an essence to art’ – Mantra

Rebirth, by Millo, in Genk, Belgium

The mural was surrounded by six bees to celebrate the insect that symbolises the rebirth of Genk

The mural was created in five days using water-based wall paint. ‘When I draw a grey city, I feel that I have to add colour as a complement. The message thus becomes to think of spaces in a more sustainable way, as in Genk’ – Millo

A former industrial and coalmining area, today Genk is in a new cycle of sustainable development and has welcomed the return of bees. The redevelopment of the abandoned industrial area has created 69 new gardens where people can meet and grow organic food, and the efforts of local residents have created the ideal conditions for bees to thrive

Perpetual Flow, by Gerada, in Ouarzazate, Morocco

The image is meant to symbolise the ability to reuse water to create a greenbelt around the city and so protect it from sandstorms

The inhabitants of Ouarzazate, a city known as ‘the door to the desert’, have protected it against sandstorms by creating a greenbelt around the city using innovative irrigation systems. Waste water is recycled, collected, filtered in reservoirs and then pumped into the greenbelt with the aid of clean power generated by the biggest power plant in north Africa

Perpetual Flow extends over 37,500 sq metres and was created using rakes, stones found on the site, 36 tonnes of dark gravel, and vegetable oil

Dendrochronology, by Gomez, in Petchaburi, Thailand

The work is made up of six oil-painted plexiglass sheets up to 120cm high

The Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand and other organisations have regenerated degraded forest land, creating a perfect habitat for gibbons, above all, but also elephants and numerous other species

‘The portrait of a proud woman becomes at one with the trees and foliage because of the transparency of the plexiglass,’ according to the artwork’s description

The work was created using non-toxic, 100% biodegradable materials and portrays two children sheltering under a blanket, symbolising the future generations who face challenges such as climate change and melting glaciers

The Rhône glacier is an expanse of ice and snow 10km in length and 1km in width. During the ice age it covered all of Switzerland. Today it shrinks by approximately nine metres in length and depth each year. People from this area have decided to try to protect the glacier using white geotextile blankets that reflect the sun’s rays

‘These mountains instil a sense of respect at first glance. Yet, when we reflect that the glacier has shrunk considerably in just a few years, it is easy to see how much it needs to be protected. We are at a crucial juncture for action’ – Hula

Kyiv-based young director Yevhen Krasulia and his team recently completed the visual campaign for local music platform MegogoLive

Influenced by Japanese film genre Kaiju that features giant monsters, mainly attacking major cities. In that way, music artists attack Kyiv reproduced in their own fancy way. It reflects a motto of the music platform “Become Bigger. Not Mature”

After another campaign of "Trash Isles" took attention and more over the Gran Prix at Cannes last year, this new striking ad from Greenpeace definitely should stick harder in the hearts of many. If not, than what else?

This stark series of ads Greenpeace Canada created illustrate just how obviously harmful plastic straws are to aquatic animals. Created by Rethink in Toronto, the ads are hard to swallow yet were designed to prompt businesses to reconsider the use of straws.

A fish, turtle and bird are inside a drink, with a straw coming out of their mouths. “Don’t suck the life from our oceans” reads each ad.

Although the campaign singles out straws as harmful, Greenpeace Canada looks to draw attention to the ill effects of throwaway plastic in general, including lids and cups.

The Earth was designed as per the Theory of Pluralism: Pluriverse.The end results of the design are controversial.

It may well be that humanity has never witnessed and starred in such rapid transformation, development and progress in all its history. The struggle against nature has evolved into a fight against oneself and with each other. The questions, the inquiries and the issues have transformed.

Now we talk about totally different things. Not just only about technology, industry 4.0, artificial intelligence, new professions or new planets... But about our extinguishing free will. And in fact, about whether we even ever had free will. About reality and new realities. In the end, everything is data. And it is possible to calculate the process of smart data.

Pluriverse is a story that observes innovations throughout the history of humans. The character of the story delivers this process in a cause and effect situation. And eventually, questions reality as a non-human entity.

Pluriverse Completed in 28 days, Pluriverse was displayed during the opening of Technology Summit and the 6 minute story was told using real time motion capture technology.

A Report Of Connected Events is a branded content film directed by Mischa Rozema and produced by PostPanic. Celebrating the power of storytelling, it was commissioned by Nuna9 on behalf of their client, Liberty Global. Filmed in Paris, the piece explores iconic moments in film and television history, blurring the lines between our reality and some of our favourite stories.

Our pursuit of the intersectionality between art and technology has delivered another mesmerizing original art piece for the Dolby Gallery, San Francisco

— Leviathan

Leviathan’s Metamorphosis is an audiovisual odyssey that extracts brilliant color data from masterpieces of the past century to create an entirely new experience of art. Employing newly developed coding techniques, Leviathan dissects a curated selection of paintings into abstract digital forms. The generative visuals, which are set rhythmically to a composed ambient soundscape, evolve through time and space — transforming the unique LED canvas at Dolby Gallery into an immersive, meditative experience.

This synergy between sight and sound is custom-designed for Dolby Gallery. Rich color volume data, inspired by Dolby Vision technology, is brought to life along with a sonic experience mixed in Dolby Atmos. Moving audio dynamically travels across 52 full-range speakers and 34 subwoofers to immerse visitors in a fusion of art and science.

This work is part of a series of Dolby exhibitions that explore the leading edge of audio and imaging technologies in partnership with contemporary artists

It's Monday and time to enjoy your Beautiful Office same ways as fictional character Paul does. He is a creature of SUPERFICTION Studio based in Seoul, that focuses on 'fiction' in the word 'Science Fiction'. They lead a story using the term that means the 'great story' and the ‘real lie’ at the same time.

AWWWWARDS asked Madrid-based TAVO studio to come up with the visuals for festival video openers

The friends of AWWWARDS called us again, this time it was for the complete creation of the image & identity of the event, both for the web, by the hand of the ADORATORIO STUDIO guys, and for the offline image of the event, print and editorial. The concept of these two conferences, Berlin and San Francisco, was DIGITAL THINKERS. We took care of materializing that concept with an explosion of colors and geometric shapes, making a wink to the banding effect that we have suffered so much digital designers with gradients

Hype Cycle is a series of futurist films exploring human-machine collaboration through performance and emerging technologies.

Machine Learning is the second set of films in the Hype Cycle series. It builds on the studio’s past experiments with motion studies, and asks: when will machines achieve human agility?

Set in a spacious, well-worn dance studio, a dancer teaches a series of robots how to move. As the robots’ abilities develop from shaky mimicry to composed mastery, a physical dialogue emerges between man and machine – mimicking, balancing, challenging, competing, outmanoeuvring.

Can the robot keep up with the dancer? At what point does the robot outperform the dancer? Would a robot ever perform just for pleasure? Does giving a machine a name give it a soul?

These human-machine interactions from Universal Everything are inspired by the Hype Cycle trend graphs produced by Gartner Research, a valiant attempt to predict future expectations and disillusionments as new technologies come to market.